Mythos
by Falia7
Summary: Bits, pieces, background, and sidestories canon to my 'Not Quite Myths' story, not in any particular chronological order. Thirteenth: The Vindice are a terrifying emotionless collective. Except that they're also not, apparently, because Bermuda can't quite help but want to protect the brightest Sky any of them have ever seen.
1. Xanxus I

_First up, just a bit of background on the Namimori attack from Xanxus' POV._

 _Will take prompts, though will not promise to fill them._

 _xxxx_

Xanxus wasn't quite sure how things had managed to turn out like this, but considering they were on a jet not owned by the Varia, he wasn't able to express his bafflement with violence. He was a Wrath, not fucking _suicidal_ , and non-Varia meant 'not made to stand up to Varia-defined 'mild force''. There were things one just didn't do at ten thousand feet, and punching a hole in one's own transportation was one of them.

That left him with too damn few options, and he found himself mentally going through the past several days to try and figure out if there had been any warning signs for the sheer _insanity_ that was anything associated with the twig of a Decimo.

'Plan A' had been for Squalo to snag the half-rings being sent to the Decimo candidate from the CEDEF's trash-in-training Rain, assemble them with the half-rings he'd already appropriated, and claim the heirship.

'Plan B' had been, in the case of decoys (which they had been, but that was a moot point) or the Varia SIC somehow not being able to acquire them (he hadn't, which at this point was less humiliating than it could have been and also moot), had been to claim dissention in line-of-succession and force a set of actual Ring Battles. He'd had half a plan for kidnapping the old man to further his cause, but when Squalo hadn't returned or reported in and his sense of his Rain had gone from faint to _muffled_ (his bonds still existed, but years stifled in Zero-Point Ice had his senses muddled), the rage had blasted all rational—or _irrational_ —thought from his mind.

Calling an outright attack on Namimori wasn't the most well-thought-out decision he'd ever made, but aside from a few (incredibly ridiculous) rumors out of Mafia Land, all Xanxus had been able to find on the Decimo candidate was that he was a fourteen-year-old civilian with sealed Flames and an idiot father. If the 'civilian kid' and 'sealed' parts didn't doom Vongola, Iemitsu's genes probably would. The man was a menace in the office and a ditz about family. He was a strong fighter and a good field leader, but that was the thing: heading a Famiglia was not at all like _field leading_ , and Iemitsu behind a desk was worse than just weak; he was _controllable._

(If it weren't for Lal Mirch, the CEDEF would have lost functionality years before, not that the Nono paid enough attention to see it.)

That added up to Xanxus' rather reasonable assumption of 'better to kill the brat now'. He didn't like killing kids, not even Mafia brats that were more killer than child, but if it was the kid or Vongola, the kid was the one who'd have to go. Besides, the Mafia would eat a civilian alive—break him if it didn't kill him. Taking him out quick and early would be a mercy.

Of course, that had been the reasoning _before_ he'd lost it when Squalo had been taken from him. And he _had_ lost it, but—and this was a pretty major and telling 'but'— _not a single Namimori citizen had been killed._

The Varia had mobilized everyone who could be brought in on short notice—a good thirty Flame-trained assassins—to attack the town, and the response from said town had been quick, efficient, organized, and damn effective.

The kid's Guardians had held back his—the _Varia_ _Elite_ —while the kid himself had punted Xanxus into the concrete a good dozen times before showing that he could use _Zero-Point._ (Xanxus' heart had stuttered in sheer, _furious_ terror, and the kid had seen it. Had seen it—and had let his Flames flare orange again.)

Then had come the dragon.

Which was very distinctively _not_ an illusion. With his Flames as high as they had been, no illusion would have been able to _physically_ restrain him, and later he'd learned that the unicorn he'd assumed to be illusion was just as real as the dragon. And the flaming, multi-colored, turtle-shelled _bird._ And that meant the rumors out of Mafia Land were probably fucking _true._

And now that tiny and terrifying twig of a Decimo had clearly decided that Xanxus was _his,_ and that he needed some kind of help. Had wrapped him up in bright, _warm_ Flame and started piecing him back together when he hadn't even known he'd been broken.

Which should have been insulting. Should have been _infuriating._ Demeaning, _something._ But…

(Damned if Xanxus wasn't starting to think that the kid might be his Sky, because that deceptively soft warmth was circling him in a way he was unfamiliar with. Harmony was different for an Element than a Sky, and as a Sky, he only knew the Sky's end. But he couldn't bring himself to think of the kid—of _Tsuna_ —as 'trash' when he even thought of _himself_ as such on his worse days. Pretty solid indicator, there, and any Sky capable of pulling in not only another Sky but a Wrath, _Xanxus,_ was incapable of being trash.)

… damned if the kid wasn't _real._

So, no, Xanxus decided. The only warning had been the rumors out of Mafia Land, and no amount of warning would have been enough to prepare _anyone_ to face the transcendent presence of Sawada Tsunayoshi's Flames, much less the supernatural support system he seemed to be amassing. Also, he had three Arcobaleno and at least seven (possibly nine) other Elements. And now Xanxus, who found his own Flames banked and eased and his ever-present temper soothed to the point that he hardly even wanted to curse, much less put holes in people.

(The fucking mythological Transcendent Sky. _Only_ explanation.)

 _xxxx_


	2. Fon I

_There was a request for Fon, Reborn, and Storm Dragons. So. Fon._

 _Guest: while there is a female fenghuang, she is described as similar to (of the same species as) but_ different from _the male. The male have a five-color tail, whereas the female only has a three-color tail, and they are both a symbol of just rule. It is true that the dragon is_ also _a symbol of the emperor, but there was also rumors more along the line of 'current' instead of 'rightful'. Rather like_ _Qílín were symbols of a good and just ruler. There are a great many myths in China and Japan that have to do with rulers, either rightful, just, kind, current, powerful, etc. I make a point of putting a basic rundown on each introduced myth at the beginning of the chapter where it appears, at least the aspects which have bearing on the story.  
_

 _xxxx_

Fon was, at the heart of things, a Storm. He had earned the name 'The Eye of the Storm' because he was calm, collected, in control—and perfectly capable of destroying everything around him if he so chose. Fon was the Arcobaleno considered to be on par with the 'Greatest Hitman', Sun Arcobaleno Reborn.

Fon was under no illusions of being able to beat Reborn in a straight up, completely evenly-staked fight. Reborn was, simply put, _stronger_ than he was. His Flames burned hotter, higher. He had more of them. Also, an unnerving tendency to show abilities with his Sun that were somewhat similar to a Cloud's Propagation on top of the normal Activation Sun possessed.

(Years before, very shortly after the Curse had first been laid upon them, the six of them who were not the Sun or Sky collectively decided that Reborn wasn't Classic or Inverted but a class all his own, like a Wrath Sky. Colonnello had said 'Chaos', and it had stuck. Even so, Fon would probably be able to win if he had more _reason_ than Reborn, if he was fighting for something important enough.)

Still, they were colleagues of a sort, and contemporaries. So, when Sawada Tsunayoshi turned up to _dress down_ Shī of the First Triad before calling out Fon with no signal from the Sun on his shoulder, Fon had been interested.

Reborn being aware of his presence—he knew the other well enough to recognize true lack of surprise from simple lack of _reaction_ —was expected. The boy realizing he was there without Reborn letting him know about it was not.

The tóngshī hadn't been expected either, and Reborn's response of disgusted exasperation instead of sharing his shock had been even less so from the implications. (Then came the fenghuang and the unicorn, and Reborn's reaction suddenly made sense.)

The tóngshī were one thing. They were guardians, certainly, but any with a hand to carve stone or hammer bronze could have their likeness outside a home, nevermind those who bought such statues. They didn't have any particular connotations beyond simple guardians, loyal to those they served but neutral overall.

(Of course, he hadn't expected any to actually be _alive,_ and that live ones chose to stand against one who'd claimed a name in their honor in favor of the boy he'd tried to have killed… well, even without the fenghuang, Shī might well have stood down. With it, though…)

The fenghuang, no matter the changed pronunciation of the Japanese language, was something else entirely. That such a creature was endorsing Sawada Tsunayoshi was _significant._

This went far beyond Underworld politics. Fenghuang were a sign of the _Emperor._ The rightful, _Chosen_ ruler.

Between that, the tóngshī, and the unicorn, Fon had not been at all hesitant to follow Shī's vow of fealty with one of his own. Tsunayoshi was _interesting,_ and if a fenghuang had chosen him, there was reason. Fon had faith in that reason, even if he did not know it.

Tsunayoshi-sama (he had disliked being called 'Sawada', and while Fon did not know why, he would not push. The exasperation for the 'Tsunayoshi-sama' was real but good-humored, so Fon would use it) had then willingly allowed Fon into his home.

And then, taking the Storm Arcobaleno _completely_ by surprise, Harmonized with him less than two days after they'd met, while out in the forest behind a small shrine near Namimori, and Reborn had instantly complained about 'dame-Tsuna's' impossibility.

Fon was usually much less impulsive. He'd worked very hard to get his Storm temper and hair-trigger attack tendencies under control. There was a _reason_ he'd earned the title 'Eye of the Storm' while being a Classic.

Thrown off by the sudden, raw _newness_ of a Harmony he'd never thought he'd gain, his response to the insult to his Liege-Sky had been that of a Classic Storm.

(Reborn had deflected the Exploding Fire Dragon attack, of course. He was _Reborn._ He _had_ been a little startled that it had been sent his way at all, though, and Tsunayoshi had actually scolded both of them for the extensive damage to a section of the forest.

Seeing Reborn actually genuinely _downtrodden_ about the scolding gave away that the Sun had been brought into Tsunayoshi's Sky as well, though he still hadn't admitted it.

Not that Fon had endured the scolding any better. In fact, he'd definitely been _worse._ His literally brand-new Sky had already been upset with him. Still, Reborn's complaints were meant in good humor, and since Fon had realized it, he toned down on his responses.

It had become a bit of a game. Reborn would complain about Tsunayoshi, and Fon would send half-powered Lotus attacks his way. The only thing they were both careful to avoid was collateral.

Neither one of them actually mentioned it, but they had silently agreed that scoldings from their Sky were _awful._ )

 _xxxx_


	3. Squalo I

_Squalo's perspective on a certain pre-Tsuna chase._

 _xxxx_

Squalo had been chasing the damn CEDEF brat for days, and when he finally managed to get him to ditch his transport in favor of heading to the rooftops on foot, the Inverted Rain had been more than happy to do the same.

He was Varia. He _liked_ a good chase.

Turned out the little rat was decent with a boomerang and his Flames, though, and Squalo found himself getting frustrated at how close he was getting to the target Squalo was supposed to be keeping him _away_ from.

He didn't want to kill the brat. Wasn't the brat's fault that he'd been given orders opposing Squalo's own, and CEDEF might not technically be Vongola, but they were Vongola support, which meant the brat was _supposed_ to be an ally.

You didn't kill allies. Not on purpose, anyway, not unless it would protect the whole.

At this rate, though, he wasn't going to have much choice. The brat wasn't good enough to beat him head-on, but slow him down enough to keep half a step ahead in a chase while Squalo was holding back? Yeah, he was good enough for that.

It was getting frustrating. He wanted to _catch_ the kid, not _kill_ him. He was allied, and good enough that once that bastard Iemitsu was out of the picture, he'd probably be trainable. Wasn't the brat's fault his boss was an incompetent moron, and considering how good he was even with that for a boss, he had promise.

Then the brat dropped down off a skyscraper in the city Sawada's spawn lived in—civilians below, Squalo noted distantly before his attention snagged on ( _holy shit what were the odds?_ ) the very person that he had been flat-out _ordered_ to keep those Half-rings away from.

No more choice. The CEDEF brat had to die, he didn't have time to screw around anymore.

Then Sawada's spawn stood up with a freaking _exasperated groan,_ like people dropping in from above while bleeding and/or waving swords was _normal_ , and suddenly the lion statues outside the café he'd been eating at with what looked like some kid-friends came to _life._

Getting pinned by the big one was painful but not unbearably so, but the slightly smaller one (no mane—female?) _biting_ through his sword was _enraging._

Worse, Sawada's spawn was _talking to them._ Telling—holy shit, these weren't Mist. Or Cloud. His own Rain was strong enough to have dissipated either, and there was a fucking _cub_ at the spawn's feet _chewing_ on what was left of his prized blade, and clearly making progress towards eating it entirely.

Squalo wasn't quite able to wrap his mind around that.

And then he registered the word 'Vindice'. Backed through what he'd heard but not paid attention to, and realized what he'd just done. Shit, it would have been safer to fail the mission than to break _Omertá._ And he'd done _both._

… And Sawada's spawn had allies that were very much _not_ Vongola.

(They were missing something. Missing a _lot,_ by the look of it, but Xanxus was going to be _pissed_ that Squalo had gotten himself caught.)

There were implications to that—poor intel, strong allies, freaking living statues—maybe robotic? A base—a base that Squalo was promptly escorted to by three metal lions and four… Yakuza? Flame Active, at that, though not too strong. Shit, poor intel didn't even _begin_ to cover this—Xanxus was going to be walking into something that was a hell of a lot closer to 'trap' than 'win'.

(And Squalo couldn't even warn him. _Shit._ He should have just gutted the CEDEF brat when he'd had the chance.)

 _xxxx_


	4. Reborn I

_Because I refuse to give multiple points of view on the same part of the same scene in the same chapter. Reborn's POV on Tsuna getting bitten by a venomous snake. I also have a Fon and a Xanxus, neither of which I've cleaned up enough to be publish-worthy._

 _Also, I don't know how many people are aware of this, but when a cobra is not rearing up, it's hood is not visible. At all._

 _xxxx_

Reborn jolted awake on hearing a startled yelp, his eyes snapping to Tsuna in reflexive alarm before alarm turned to terrified _horror._ He was no expert on snakes, but one that size—even if it wasn't venomous, from what Reborn could see, it had teeth in a very precarious place.

"Fon, Skull!" he snapped, leaping across to Tsuna's bed to grab hold of the thing's upper jaw—couldn't just pull, that might end up literally ripping out part of Tsuna's throat.

He heard his fellow Arcobaleno cursing as they realized what was happening, and then Skull had a grip on the snake's lower jaw while Fon grabbed the back of its head, their eyes glowing with the colors of their respective Flames. Reborn could see the reflection from his own eyes on sleek scale, and he didn't bother trying to tamp down the reaction.

He was aware of the door slamming open, of Xanxus swearing violently and dropping half-charged X-guns to the ground in favor of grabbing the snake with both hands, keeping its writhing bulk from dislodging Fon, and then he and Skull managed to pry its mouth open—he didn't see _fangs_ , but the cuts dug into Tsuna's skin were deep, bleeding profusely, and heavily inflamed. (He didn't hear himself snap out an order, barely noticed Fon pulling the head away.)

He pressed his hands down into the blood, feeling the unnerving pulse to the heaviest part of the flow—nicked artery—and pushed his Flame into the gashes only for it to slide away, shunting off the wounds like water from gull-feathers. (Xanxus whip-cracked the snake into a wall and snatched up an X-gun, putting a compacted shot of Wrath Flame into it for good measure.)

A second try showed it was no fluke—he brought the full weight of his Flames to bear and only ended up scorching his own hands as the air heated with the rebound.

"Xanxus!" Reborn snapped, and the Wrath was beside him in a heartbeat, growling a low order for Fon to watch the snake in case it wasn't dead.

Reborn ignored Fon turning to obey, "Put pressure on the wound—the venom's repelling my Flames."

Xanxus cursed again as he grabbed the sheet and ripped a thick strip from it, words low and vicious, but hands quick and gently firm as he folded the cloth and pressed it to the injury, sliding one hand around the back of Tsuna's neck to stabilize it.

"Skull, get Ryohei," Reborn commanded, weaving his Flame through the uninjured side of Tsuna's throat in an attempt to get at the wound from within.

Again, his Flames simply slipped aside.

Reborn snarled, feeling utterly helpless. He didn't have a lot of options, and Tsuna didn't have a lot of time.

"Screw the brat-Sun," Xanxus snarled, too, flaring his Flames sharply. An instant later, the Varia Elite were running into the room, and the Wrath didn't even bother to glance up. "Shark, get the fucking medics! Sun, get your ass in here!"

The Varia Rain bolted out at a dead sprint as the Sun scrambled forward to do as he'd been told, swearing violently as his Flames were shunted aside by whatever the hell was in the venom.

Reborn felt a chilling clarity closing over him as the familiar warmth of Tsuna's Flames flickered and dimmed, and suddenly Mukuro was in the room, lunging forward to plant Mist-wreathed fingers on Tsuna's temples, his red eye's pupil flicking between the kanji for six and the kanji for one before he growled, eyes flicking towards the wall where Xanxus had thrown the snake. He glared at it for a heartbeat before his pupil switched to three, then two, and Mukuro went utterly still.

Three seconds later, Tsuna's eyes snapped open and Sky Flame flared out hard enough to send all of them sprawling, and then the snake Reborn had (stupidly) presumed was _dead_ hissed sharply and _sprung_ itself up at the bed again.

(The fear was sharp and hot and _sickening,_ Reborn's reactions dulled by the Sky that had soaked his system as Tsuna woke. He was a Sun, and better off than the others for it, and if _he_ couldn't react quickly enough, how could anyone else?)

Xanxus snarled and snapped a hand out, catching the thing midair and smacking its head down onto the edge of the bed, pinning it with a broad, bloodied, Flame-wreathed palm. "The hell _is_ this thing?" he demanded of no one in particular.

(Sky. Of course the influx would be easier for another Sky to handle.)

"Khe-ti," Tsuna managed, raising a hand to his still-bleeding wound before he wavered and fell back, and Reborn flared his Flames _hard,_ clearing his system enough that he could move.

"Hold still," he ordered as he scrambled back onto the bed, his Sun flickering over his fingers even though it had already proven useless against whatever venom that thing had. Then he blinked, because the formerly Flame-proof wounds weren't anymore.

Relieved, Reborn knitted them carefully closed, "Tsuna, what happened?"

"She—ah, said it was a test?" his words slurred a bit, but he sounded lucid enough. "She'd just decided I passed when Mukuro showed up. She was… kind of impressed with that, said something about 'strong acolytes'…"

Xanxus' Wrath Flames stopped burning quite so brightly, and the snake was obviously unharmed but equally obviously not fighting. "Test," he repeated flatly, clearly deciding to ignore the rest for the sake of his sanity.

Reborn was inclined to agree as he took his time double-checking the side of Tsuna's neck for damage, wiping away blood with what few bits of clean sheet he could find to make _certain_ he'd healed it all. "Welcome to life with Tsuna. The unicorn did something similar."

"Ah, that was just the only way to get the seal off without…" Tsuna corrected, blinking slowly and slurring more as he lost track of what he was saying before trying again. "Venna didn't, ah… Xanxus, can you let her go before she gets annoyed? She shouldn't..."

Three lost-tracks in less than a minute. Tsuna wasn't _bleeding_ anymore, but his blood volume was dangerously low. Reborn cycled Sun into his body, keeping it neutral enough not to Activate anything unfortunate and using it to keep his student's temperature up.

Xanxus looked (quite understandably) dubious, but slowly let up on the pressure and set the snake on the floor when it didn't react other than to flex its neck a bit.

It reared up, hood flaring—cobra?—and hissed, long and low and wordlessly approving.

Tsuna moved to sit again and swayed, and Reborn hopped up onto his chest to knock him back down and give himself a handy surface to work with for Flame-channeling. "You may be in one piece, but you lost a lot of blood, dame-Tsuna. Stay still."

Tsuna subsided, his other Guardians piling into the room in alarm.

Reborn blinked, suddenly realizing that the whole thing had taken very little time. Minutes—three at the most. Squalo had definitely been moving quickly, and he wasn't even back with the medics yet. (The sooner the Varia Rain got back, the better. Tsuna was in obvious need of a transfusion—Lussuria might have the knowledge to stimulate bone marrow to overproduction, which Reborn admittedly did not, but Tsuna was in the sort of condition where that would cause more harm than good.)

Things got briefly chaotic before Xanxus put a stop to it, Reborn trying very hard to ignore how his own limbs wanted to shake as he sat right where he was, square in the middle of Tsuna's chest, focusing on keeping his Flames spread even and quiet and _warm_. He'd held together under the higher-than-normal ratio of noradrenaline to adrenaline*, but the crash was vicious and retroactive terror not to be underestimated.

Tsuna was not leaving his sight for _days._

(Also, there was no way he wouldn't end up reneging on his contract with the Nono if something actually managed to get past all Tsuna's other guards. Not if this was his reaction to seeing exactly that happen. Reborn had thought the unicorn's introduction had been bad, but then Tsuna _hadn't_ been more than just his student and it had been over blessedly quickly.

Feeling Tsuna's lifeblood pulsing out beneath his hands, his Sun Flames _useless_ , having to turn to a new-bonded Element because his own hands were _too damn_ _small_ …

No, he couldn't deny it anymore. Tsuna was his Sky, and that contract had to go.)

 _xxxx_

 _*This is an actual thing. It is rare, but can occasionally come about due to certain types of training—sniper training, for instance—and even more rarely naturally occurring. The two main types of high-stress reactive chemical that the human body utilizes are adrenaline and noradrenaline, the second of which is both a stimulant and neurotransmitter produced mainly in the brain. The same events that cause the release of adrenaline in the human body also increase the production of noradrenaline, which serves a similar but more aggressive function: predators tend to produce a far higher ratio of noradrenaline-to-adrenaline than humans. Adrenaline is more the 'fight-or-flight' whereas noradrenaline tends to induce an almost cheerful sense of rational calm that's very cat-and-mouse-ish. I possess a naturally higher noradrenaline response than usual, and the backlash to sudden spikes and recessions is truly vicious, generally including actual difficulties in coordination, muscle response, and focus with the sudden lessening of a powerful neurotransmitter. Normal adrenaline crashes do the same thing, of course, but the off-ratio mix of the two apparently makes it more disorienting to human physiology. Fun little side note that was explained by my doctor as mainly speculation, but I'm inclined to believe it as well-thought-out speculation, if nothing else. Reborn seems to have the cat-and-mouse mentality, that one where he is the cat and the unsuspecting 'threat' is the mouse, which I understand a little too clearly for comfort. My brain's scary in that mode, and while the worst that's ever come of it were bruises, I can only imagine a trained assassin's response._


	5. Xanxus II

_Because Tsuna is generally laid-back and forgiving, but with so many violently rowdy people under his care, he's had to put certain rules in place. Rather than verbally telling every newly conquered subordinate, they published 'The Rules' in varying languages, and pass them out with some basic instruction._

 _The Varia, sequestered in the Namimori base directly after the very failed attack, are also given copies. No need for more 'misunderstandings' after all._

 _xxxx_

"The hell is this?" Xanxus demanded, still reeling over how fucking _wrong_ their information had been. The Decimo brat—he wasn't weak. He had a massive base, one that had fucking _holding cells,_ and a retinue that didn't actually deserve to be scoffed at, and only partly for sheer _numbers._

Also, every single one of the damn yakuza they'd passed on said base while the fluffy brat had led him and his through it hadn't even batted and eye when he told them to release the twenty-odd Varia that had already been brought in and have them and any others healed, because they had attacked under a misunderstanding and were in fact part of a misinformed ally group.

None of it was a lie, even. Brat was Vongola, like it or not, which made the Varia allied at the least.

Instead of the concern or grudging acceptance he knew even his own fucking _best_ would give back for such an order (they'd obey it—his trash weren't _stupid,_ they knew to obey orders—but they sure as hell would be reluctant about it) every single one of the damn trash immediately rushed to obey, apologizing with serious fucking _sincerity_ for the misunderstandings and gathering what Suns they had to treat any Varia who had so much as a fucking _scratch,_ before their own people.

And they looked at that fluffy brat like he'd hung the stars. (Juudaime, Oyabun, Tsunayoshi-sama, Tsuna-dono—every single damn address to the brat wasn't just respectful, it was fucking _adoring._ These people would burn the world with smiles on their faces if ever that brat asked. They weren't Varia, but their loyalty was at least as deadly.)

Also, they took the fucking horse-sized _dragon_ in with nothing more than slightly amused, admiring resignation. The hell did the brat get _into?_

Back to the point, though, the brat had led Xanxus to his Rain, shooed away the dragon and fucking _living metal lions_ with a gentle admonition for the lions to get the dragon settled in the nearby mountains, and left them with a man he'd introduced as 'Kuro-san' who was supposed to set them up on base while the Decimo brat himself dealt with a visitor.

Kuro'd led them to quarters that were connected, well-kept, and more welcomingly homey than luxurious, then passed all six of them fucking _leather-bound books._ In Italian. Gold-embossed, and looking a hell of a lot like they were from one of the expensive kinds of publishing house.

' _Le Regole_ ' was in the title position, and the books—for all their clear costliness, as books went—were not very thick. "Juudaime instructed me to ensure you were settled in on the base," Kuro informed, simultaneously serene and earnest. "Those are The Rules. The ones that Juudaime does not tolerate the breaking of, and the consequences of doing so can be… _traumatic,_ shall we say. Most had to be instated due to his Cloud and Storm, but it would be best if you familiarized yourselves with them. They are… universal, to any who look to Juudaime."

Base etiquette, then, and the brat had proven himself well enough that Xanxus would go along with this. The man who had been in the room the Decimo brat had turned into had clearly been Shī of the First Triad, and his crew took jobs like the Varia's. He had also bowed to the brat, clearly subservient and equally clearly glad to be. Also, without any subordinates with him, which was a massive gesture of trust. The brat at least had the Sun Arcobaleno on his shoulder.

Kuro continued as soon as Xanxus gave a curt nod. "I will cover the most important at the moment now: No one who is allied to Juudaime in any way may fight or spar outside of designated training areas. The sole exception to this rule is the Arcobaleno, and then only when facing another Arcobaleno. As this is the Namimori Edition of The Rules, there are a series of maps showing the local approved areas. There are eight in the city, ten on-base, and a number scattered about the surrounding area. A side-note to this rule is 'no collateral', which applies doubly for Arcobaleno. Any damage caused to anything not within the marked boundaries of the training areas comes out of the paychecks of whoever was involved."

 _Not_ base etiquette, then. A universal rulebook to anyone allied to the brat. Or—not, you couldn't impose more than basic rules on allies, and the damn thing was too thick for that, for all that it wasn't big. Which meant that they weren't fucking _allies,_ they were straight-up _his._

Something in Xanxus settled at that, the raging unease that had driven him to plan to take the rings for himself soothed by the proof that the brat had both combat and leadership skills. He nodded again, and said brat tapped once on the doorframe before stepping into the room, the Sun Arcobaleno still on his shoulder.

Kuro turned, visibly brightening on the sight of the brat, who gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that, Kuro-san. Shī just wanted to report having successfully unified the Triads for me. I can take back over from here."

What. The. Fuck. Unified the Triads? Even _Vongola_ left the damn Triads alone, because messing with one of them was a hell of a lot like screwing with the Varia—Triads weren't standard mafia; they were half ninja clan, half assassin guild, and more than willing to return violence with violence. It wasn't worth the dent it would put in the forces to take any of them on full-scale.

Also, while some—like the First Triad and the Long Triad—were known, no one outside the Triads themselves knew how many Triads existed. China was a big place and had its fair share of space. If the First's leader claimed to have _unified_ the Triads, that was more than big. That was fucking _titanic._

And _for the Decimo brat?_

Shit, okay, they were reading the damn rulebook. And then they were going to follow the damn rules.

 _xxxx_


	6. Shī I

_I know he's an OC, but it spawned anyway._

 _xxxx_

"Tsunayoshi-sama, Fon," Shī greeted easily as Tsunayoshi's young Storm greeted Kuro from the Sora—presumably he was of similar position to Shī's own, though the head of the _former_ First Triad had never actually asked. The Momokyokai had not been individually worth enough attention for him to have known its leader by name, and only Tsunayoshi-sama's interference had raised them enough to start the Sora.

(He was ever so slightly disappointed that Tsunayoshi-sama didn't deign to give the united Triads a new name, but the smiling assassin-eyed Rain had laughed and explained that the Sora had named themselves, and Tsunayoshi had only intervened enough to keep his actual _name_ from being used. As it was, they'd already started paperwork with only 'Triads', with all individual group names having been dissolved. Not terribly original, but at least it required very little reworking.)

Tsunayoshi smiled warmly, "Shī, welcome. Did Reborn explain what's going on?"

"He said you could use my support, but did not explain fully. The fenghuang was an… interesting method of transportation."

Tsunayoshi gave a wry smile, "Moeru has proven to be quite helpful, yes. I am going to have something of a discussion with the Vongola Nono regarding his care and handling of both his family and Famiglia. Should he prove to be… reticent on cleaning up his own messes, I will be asking that he step down so that I can clean them up _for_ him. I'd rather he take care of it himself, though. I have quite enough to handle _without_ taking over Vongola ahead of schedule."

Shī blinked, "Ahead of schedule? You were planning to overthrow Vongola?"

Tsunayoshi blinked back, "Ah, no. You misunderstand. The Nono sent Reborn to train me as Vongola Decimo—I'm the only currently eligible blood-heir to the proverbial throne."

Shī took a moment to consider that fascinating little revelation before nodding. "So you are well within your rights to disagree with current handling, then. I presume that if Vongola Nono proves to be stubborn, you do not wish loss of life?"

Tsunayoshi dipped his head briefly in agreement, "They are mine, after all, even if most of them don't know it. However, the Nono does _profess_ to share my views on both family and Famiglia, so I am hoping to settle this peacefully and have him clean up his own messes. It would save me a great deal of trouble."

A reasonable desire. Still, if he was worried about needing the show of force… "Is there cause to be wary?"

Tsunayoshi sighed, glancing at Kuro who had settled with the others in the room to listen. "I have met the Nono once in my memory. I was five years old, and crying after having fallen out of a tree when the neighbor's dog startled me by barking quite loudly. My hands lit with an orange light, and that man pressed his Flame-tipped finger against my head, and made my whole world go cold and broken. He has mishandled his family affairs so horribly that he lost all _four_ of his sons to it, though he may have a chance to regain one, should Xanxus wish it. He is old, clearly making poor decisions, and currently the head of what is generally believed to be the strongest Mafia Famiglia, and I am not yet recognized as Decimo by any but the Varia. Frankly, he likely still thinks of me as a Flame-sealed ignorant civilian child. If a show of force can correct that quickly, then a show of force he will have."

That man had sealed Active Flames? Not only Active, but a Sky, and of his own _blood?_ Certainly, Shī knew it was possible—but the Triads had forbidden the sealing of Active Flames before Vongola had even been founded. If there was one too dangerous to be allowed Flames who was already Active, they were executed. It was _mercy._

(Inactive was another matter. To place a seal over Flames not yet Active merely prevented later activation. To seal a soul already drawn to the surface and burning bright, though… it _broke_ those sealed, always. Sometimes in horrible ways. And only once did the records show the sealing of an Active Sky—a young man who'd gone mad at the loss of all of his bonds at once in a terrible tragedy, and been sealed to keep him from damaging the world around him… and broken in an entirely different way, terrified of the world and screaming in pain from the loss until he'd gone hoarse. His own _father_ had killed him not two days later, unable to bear watching his suffering. How was Tsunayoshi still _sane?_ )

Shī felt his own Flames shift restlessly. He was a Sky, one of the few in the Triads, but his own Flames were quite weak. Nearly useless, if he were honest—his skills lay elsewhere. Still, he could not _imagine_ losing them, and that one so Flame-strong as Tsunayoshi had not only had his Flames taken from him but had survived it, _sane,_ and had gotten them back…

And now was choosing to go face the one who had inflicted that agony on him, and face him with _words_ instead of simply cutting him down. He was stronger than Shī had imagined.

And Shī was not imagining the heat at his back, the heat of Flames that were not exactly Sky. Tsunayoshi was looking past him with a reassuring smile, though, so Shī would not take that heat as threat. "It's fine, Xanxus. My father did ask him to, so I can't blame him too much for it."

Blindsided, Shī barely kept from staggering at those words. Not the lack of blame—although that in itself was stunning—but that Tsunayoshi's _father_ had… did they not _know?_ Was it ignorance? Surely no father would _deliberately_ inflict such torture!

"Shī, calm," Tsunayoshi instructed, firm but gentle. "That's not a matter for today. I will address my famiglia-oriented grievances with the Nono and inform him of what I intend to do if he does not. You and Kuro-san are here because I need it clear that I have allies of my own and am not reliant on Vongola for support."

Shī took a breath and focused on the mild offense he felt at a detail of those words, "We are not _allies,_ Tsunayoshi-sama, you are our _liege._ "

Kuro had a similar protest, stepping up, "Juudaime, you're our _leader!_ We only answer to you!"

Tsunayoshi huffed, smiling reluctantly.

Then the source of the hot Flames spoke, "I'm inclined to give you the same, Brat. The Ring accepted you, so you're Decimo—and I've got no intention of bowing to the old man. Varia may belong to Vongola, but our oaths weren't to the _Ninth._ "

Varia. Hot Sky-tinted Flames. The name Xanxus that he had overlooked.

Well. It seemed that Tsunayoshi had the most powerful of the Vongola subsidiaries as his own already. Shī nodded slightly, "Indeed you have begun to build your empire, Tiānzi*."

Tsunayoshi made an exasperated noise, "Why does everyone want _me_ to rule?"

A certain Sun popped up next to him. (Shī did _not_ flinch.) "Because you're good at it, dame-Tsuna," he chirped, sounding justifiably smug.

(The fenghuang cooed and the unicorn whuffled. Shī decided he _liked_ being with this group.)

 _xxxx_

 _*Points at reviews* This, I like better. Yes? It does feel like it makes more sense.  
_


	7. Fon II

_Because there was a request to see the Fon POV cleaned up enough to post._

 _xxxx_

Fon was not ordinarily a heavy sleeper—much like Reborn, he was an assassin. He wasn't the kind of known hitman-for-hire that Reborn was, and the vast majority of the Mafia only knew him as a powerful martial-artist Storm, but the Triads knew of his less advertised skills and those skills were the sort one didn't gain without also gaining a healthy respect for _not_ sleeping like the dead.

Mainly because sleeping like the dead generally ended up as _being_ dead.

He had noticed, however, that he slept a little more deeply than he ought after a heavy dose of Tsunayoshi's Flames, which he had gotten in _spades_ during the plane ride. Enough so that he'd slept through a fair portion of said plane ride as well as most of the further travel to the Varia base and _still_ ended up sleeping deeply enough that the startled yelp from his Sky didn't quite wake him—he _started_ to wake, gaining awareness that something wasn't quite right, but it wasn't until Reborn's Flames flared hot and heavy and his voice cracked out in a two-name demand that Fon _woke._

He was moving before he even knew what he was looking at, Reborn hunched over something long and dark against Tsunayoshi's chest, hands gripping at—the realization hit hard, and Fon actually _stumbled_ as he scrambled to snatch at writhing scale, his own hands clamping down on the base of the snake's head an instant after Skull hooked his fingers around the lower jaw, helping Reborn to pry its mouth open as it started to thrash.

Fon's weight did little to hamper it, and the bed provided nothing to brace against in order to use his strength. He didn't dare shove Flame into its head, because while his Storm might sever its spine he knew that many snakes-heads could bite even hours after having been removed from the body, and the uncontrolled body would only thrash all the harder for a time.

And then hands nearly the size of his own body snapped closed over the creature in two places, _forcing_ it still, and Reborn told him to pull.

Fon yanked, bracing his feet as best he could as Reborn immediately turned Flame-wreathed hands on the wound it had left in their Sky's throat, and then Xanxus ripped the serpent from his grasp and snapped it against the wall, ducked down to snatch one of his Flame-guns from the floor, and put a shot of Wrath into the thing while Fon tried to comprehend that Reborn's Sun was not healing their Sky.

 _Why wasn't it working!?_

"Xanxus!" Reborn demanded, tight and strained, and the Wrath answered, turning Fon's attention towards the snake he apparently wasn't sure was dead.

Unable to help, to heal or even staunch the bleeding with his tiny hands, Skull already directed towards their other Sun and Xanxus calling for his own Elements for more able aid, Fon did as he'd been bidden.

Watching the snake didn't feel like helping, but a Storm's destruction was of no use, here.

(He had never felt so worthless, listening to Reborn and the Varia Sun cursing their inability to heal the wound, Xanxus' breathing coming in terror-edged pants. His hard-earned serenity had not left him—if anything, it had taken over entirely, and Fon faintly recognized the shock in himself.)

And then there was Mist, Mukuro seeking to aid, and Tsunayoshi's Sky flaring out with a physical wave of pressure that sent them all sprawling. Fon hit the ground near the suddenly _moving_ snake, unable to coordinate his sluggish limbs well enough to even slow it, his fingers brushing uselessly against cool scale.

He saw Reborn's eyes widen, sparking bright with Sun, and then Xanxus was smacking the snake's head down against the mattress with one Wrath-bright hand, other clamped firmly around the thing's middle, blood-wet fingers smearing grey-blue with crimson.

Fon raised his own Flames, trying to force his system clear even as Reborn pressed gold-glowing hands to Tsunayoshi's neck, his expression intent but tinted with relief, which meant his Flames were working, now.

Relief indeed, more when Fon could see Reborn wiping away yet more of their Sky's blood to show whole skin beneath, prodding carefully and asking what had happened.

Fon let out a breath and stopped fighting the Flames swamping his system, that relief making him go lightheaded as he sank back to the floor. For a few moments, sound blurred and he had a hard time focusing as the Wrath's Rain brought the medics in, then warm hands picked him up and Kyoya huffed at him, "The Omnivore will be fine," he muttered, soft enough that no one else heard.

Fon breathed out and leaned into his nephew's chest, "I am glad."

 _xxxx_


	8. Mukuro I

_So, I'm not dead. First, sorry for the no-warning disappearance. Family emergency of the accident variety - the parents involved are arguably recovered now (and thank God the kids weren't in the car), but they have young children and needed a live-in nanny for a while. Also, my niece is adorable. My nephews are slightly less so, but. Well. Boys will be boys, especially the younger ones. And they did_ try _to behave, so points for effort. I'm still on-call just in case - brother-in-law had a pretty bad knock to the head, and while he's only missing a day or three, memory-wise, there's a watch on for complications even if they're not too likely at this point. That aside, I've completely lost track of my actual storyline for Not Quite Myths, so I'm putting this up as proof of life and going back through it to pick up my scattered thoughts. Hopefully will have something in a few days._

 _xxxx_

Mukuro was a lot of things. Unforgiving, cruel, _monster,_ he'd been called. But he was born to a Famiglia that used their own children as test subjects in an attempt to further their own power, people who drove him into death's arms six times ( _please, please, let this be the_ last) only to drag him back, trying to expand his power so they could use it as theirs.

(The other children suffered as he did, though not always in the same ways. When his power grew, and they could no longer control him—he destroyed them. He claimed it vengeance. It wasn't. He'd just wanted the pain to _stop_.)

The Northern Famiglia… they were kind, to Mukuro. _Kind_. He did not trust their kindness, except for Lancia's genuine heart. He was a Mist, deception incarnate, and he knew when he was being manipulated.

They wanted his power as surely as those who'd forced it upon him, and they used their truest member—the one who believed them _good_ —in an attempt to bring him into their fold.

(He heard, one day, them speaking of the others. Disdainful, gloating that they had gotten the most powerful, that Mukuro would be theirs.)

Mukuro was _no one's_ possession.

He wiped them from the earth, and perhaps it was cruel to use Lancia to do it, but he didn't want that one kind person to die. Lancia had shown him kindness, and life and ignorant grief were surely better than death alongside those who'd deceived him so cleanly, even if the man himself would never know.

(He had never intended to keep Lancia forever. But Ken and Chikusa, once he found them, came first. Would always come before Lancia, because Lancia had been kind but they had _suffered._ If he could prevent it, they would not suffer so again. And three children did not escape notice without an adult nearby, not in civilian sectors, and Lancia was… convenient. And that way, Mukuro at least knew he was healthy.)

Getting caught by and subsequently escaping the Vindice? Not something he wanted to repeat.

The Vindice's black Flames made his skin crawl the way Hell had, burned the way being dragged through planes of existence over and over and _over_ had. He never wanted to go back.

(And then he heard about a civilian-turning-mob-heir, and thought 'Vongola' and 'power' and 'safety'. As it turned out, he wasn't exactly wrong.)

There was no regret for beating down the 'strongest' in the town, in using the Ranking Prince for his own ends. No regret for pain inflicted or using the others he'd brought with him from Vindicare. (Except Ken and Chikusa, always except them, because they were family even if he could never admit it. To admit weakness was to expose it, to leave it open to attack.)

Then he met firmly resolved eyes, and someone who was so genuine, so _real_ , that it made Lancia's honest kindness seem cruel and deceptive in comparison. Had been shocked when the boy stood before him glowing with the Vongola's legendary Hyper Dying Will, eyes and Flame amber-clear, and then there was the bird.

(Mukuro recognized it, vaguely, from myth and legend. He'd been startled, lost focus, and then lost the fight. But when the Vindice came…

Tsunayoshi _called_ to him, asked for him, _won_ him from the most feared in the mafia, won him and those few he cared about with words alone, and done so with _no ulterior motives_. How could he not return that with the loyalty that wasn't even asked?)

 _xxxx_


	9. Lal Mirch I

_Lal doesn't even know anymore. (Also, her boss is an idiot.)_

 _xxxx_

Lal Mirch was left blinking in the wake of the Decimo's group leaving, not entirely sure what had just happened. For one thing, Xanxus had seemed… different, to say the least. He had been visibly off-balance, looking to the Decimo as though for _answers,_ and the fact that _Reborn_ had introduced the boy as _his Sky_ was…

Surreal, was one way to put it. The fact that he had Fon and Skull with him as well, alongside the Varia and quite a few younger Flame Actives she was willing to bet were his Guardians…

She didn't want to think on what he'd said of Iemitsu. She didn't want to think a man she respected had failed so badly. But there would be no choice—the Decimo had denied kinship with Iemitsu, called him a stranger, and a lying one at that.

That had not been the 'useless little Tuna-fishy' that Iemitsu wailed about. That had been a young man secure in his power, who had the strongest in the world folded into his care, who had gotten _Reborn and Xanxus_ to follow him with unnerving ease.

(Lal had never Harmonized with Iemitsu. Had assumed that he'd had and lost the bonds she might have fit into, and simply been unwilling to 'replace' those lost. Now, she was wondering if that assumption was wrong, if he simply was of too incompatible a mindset for their Flames to mesh.)

Damage control. The Decimo was angry with the CEDEF head, and for solid reason. _Damage control._

Worse, not only had Iemitsu wronged the boy on a personal level (eight years out of contact, to the point where he'd needed _Xanxus_ to tell him who the man even was?), he had also started to verbally lash out at one of the Decimo's Guardians. _Xanxus,_ at that, who was a _Wrath Sky._

(She, like everyone else, had always assumed that Transcendent Skies were a myth. Apparently everyone was wrong, because there was no mistaking how steady and sure Xanxus' usually roiling Wrath had been, how he'd looked to Tsunayoshi with a level of protectiveness and fierce pride, how he'd folded to the young man's wishes without so much as a token protest. If that wasn't the mark of a full Harmony Bond, she didn't know what was.)

Somehow, Lal had the feeling that Iemitsu wasn't going to be the External Advisor much longer.

Still, she should probably break him out of that illusion and report to Timoteo. Ugh, what a _mess._

Then, as it turned out, the snakes? _Not_ illusions.

(It took ten minutes and excessive application of creative Cloud and Mist Flames to trap the things, which Lal was a little reluctant to kill. Three of the vipers ended up dead anyway, but live snakes _that_ obedient had to be trained, and she didn't want to find out what the Decimo's people would say about having to train new ones. Also, how the hell did they smuggle that many snakes into Vongola Mansion without anyone _noticing?_ Who carried around a dozen-odd vipers and constrictors and used them as _restraints_ on people that annoyed them?)

Cloud-and-Mist Flame box of snakes in hand, Lal left Iemitsu under Oregano's watch and went to tell Timoteo that the Decimo and his group had returned to Varia Mansion to handle some situation involving a possible traitor before sighing and going to ask Turmeric to take her to return the reptiles.

Beating discipline and skill into recruits was her job. (There was the unofficial but overriding job of keeping the office in order, because Iemitsu was a strong, disciplined fighter but _not_ a clerk. She understood that Timoteo had chosen him because he _trusted_ him, but that trust really shouldn't have been put in a largely office-run position. Timoteo should have kept the man as a field commander, not a paper-pusher.)

Nowhere in that was 'returner of pets'. Although the snakes seemed more like working animals.

Ack. _How_ did one teach _snakes_ to attack (or bind) on command? Sure, Reborn seemed able to talk to reptiles, but he didn't _train snakes._

Or, at least, she dearly hoped he didn't, because if the snakes she'd killed were _Reborn's,_ she was going to have a very miserable year, if he was feeling forgiving. If he wasn't, she would have a very miserable rest of her _life_.

(Then, just to make things worse, she and Turmeric were turned away at the door, the Varia Mansion on lockdown and no one allowed in or out. Which left Lal with a tank of snakes and some worried questions. What was going on?)

 _xxxx_


	10. Kuro I

_The accidental takeover of a country or two, due to both over and_ under _planning. (Kuro tries, really.)  
_

 _xxxx_

Kuro liked to think of himself as a fairly laid-back man. (He hadn't, in fact, been in charge of the Momokyokai. His predecessor had ironically been taken ill and decided to step down when Juudaime had first stumbled into their territory—by which he meant 'the free-for-all contest to decide which of the five possible heirs would succeed' and immediately trounced them all. By itself, that wouldn't have been enough to put Juudaime in charge, but one thing had led to another.)

There were a few exceptions, of course. Every man had their price and their breaking point. Kuro's happened to be Juudaime; his safety, his happiness, his approval—in roughly that order. So when the call came in from Italy that Juudaime had snapped on an invulnerable monster and fallen into a _coma_ from Flame-depletion...

Well. Kuro hadn't felt that kind of slick-chilled _alarm_ settle between his lungs since he'd been a child. Juudaime, in a coma? Massive, near-fatal Flame depletion?

He'd demanded as much explanation as the Varia Rain—the man calling—had been able to give. A monster immune to their Flames, hurting one of Juudaime's Own. Juudaime snapping, bathing it in enough Sky to light the world for miles around, turning the monster to stone and, once assured of the safety of the remainder of His Own, falling. Reborn and Xanxus doing what they could to stabilize him, but even as careful as they were, they feared putting too much Wrath in him—if ever one would not be _directly_ compatible with the angry fire, it would be Juudaime. Kuro had been _terrified._ His leader, his _god—_ when had he become such?—possibly never to wake?

... _Unacceptable._

He'd demanded ideas from any and all of the Sora's extensive network, now spanning all of Japan and a few scattered points on the mainland that weren't under Shī's watchful eye. Someone had mentioned hearing about research in Korea, on a machine to aid in Flame recovery.

It wasn't much. Was hardly anything, as the rumor was unverified and there was no information on who was doing it or even which Korea.

But it was better than _nothing,_ and while Kuro set what few scientists they had on their own research, someone with a head start on them would be invaluable. They didn't have time to be subtle.

(He asked Shī for reinforcements, and the Triads' leader was all too happy to provide in spades, having also heard of Juudaime's injury.)

As it turned out, the plans to isolate and occupy the Koreas—both the governmental and underground sides of things, and in both North and South—had already been launched by the time word came that Juudaime had woken on his own.

... it was a little too late to stop, as the setup had been complete and the Lightning-and-Mist powered Flame machines to disrupt communications had already been set and they would go off no matter what Kuro said about it at that point. All the Sora and Triads members already in the country had their orders and one of those orders was to keep to radio silence until their own communications devices were the only ones that worked.

... Juudaime was going to be _so mad_.

Also, Kuro had not thought quite enough ahead. Once he'd had the Sora and Triads occupying both Koreas in every major aspect on every side of the law, he couldn't exactly just... pull everyone out and have them vanish. Things didn't _work_ that way. There would be too much of an upheaval.

Maybe Juudaime would forgive him the oversight, if he did something to minimize the damage?

(So, maybe merging the Koreas and turning them into a monarchy wasn't exactly the best idea. But they at least managed to cut the government corruption out—mainly by removing the governments, which corruption was a existential hazard of—and the reorganization meant the Sora and Triads had to occupy the area until things were settled, but they would at least see to it that Juudaime's new people were properly cared for. Besides, it was better than having two countries declare war on a group that didn't have their own country to claim.)

... at least they'd found the research?

(It was very incomplete, but Kuro passed it and the individual who'd been working on it to the scientists holed up in the Tokyo division, much to said individual's glee. It wasn't every day that one had two countries conquered in search of them after having been laughed out of the local Flame-aware groups for foolishness. Koul, who had taken his name for the imugi* who must pass tests to become true dragons, must have found himself akin to a drake, as his faith in his work had definitely given him 'wings'.)

... Yeah, no. Kuro was going to be in _so much trouble_. There would be _disappointment from Juudaime_. Kuro couldn't even hope for it to blow over while Juudaime was sorting out Vongola, because he had to be at the inauguration! He _definitely_ wouldn't have let it go by then! It was less than a full day away!

(Juudaime was fine, though, and that made everything all right.)

 _xxxx_

 _*Imugi are lesser or aspiring dragons, serpent-like in appearance, in Korean lore; who must do -something- to become true dragons. Koul specifically become dragons by passing three tests, and each pass grants them another attribute of a true dragon. By coming to the aid of others, a koul will grow legs. By swimming, he will gain fire. By leaping in good faith, he will grow wings. (They end up more like European dragons than most that way, since very few Eastern dragons have wings. Most true dragons in Korean lore do not. Koul is also from wiki, though I found imugi other places as well. People often identify with movie/book/etc. symbols even when they didn't exist before the movie/book/etc came out or if they are misrepresented therein. Just look at the Harry Potter series! )_


	11. Colonnello I

_I don't have time to be doing this. I am doing it anyway. Have a present._

 _(When Viper complains about things that aren't money, Colonnello knows something is wrong with the world.)_

 ** _xxxx_**

Colonnello blinked when his phone went off, casting a quick glance at his latest batch of trainees to make sure none of them were in immediate life-threatening peril as he answered without having checked the screen. Not many people called him, though, and the island security used the radio, so he was expecting either Lal, Iemitsu, or Reborn.

"Hello," he greeted, neutral in case it was Iemitsu or Lal in a bad mood, but feeling his lack of pre-answer identity check could be excused by the fact that he was actually working.

 _"Colonnello,"_ a familiarly flat voice replied.

Colonnello blinked again, honestly startled and not quite sure he was hearing right. "... Viper?"

" _You've met the Decimo._ "

It wasn't really a question, but before the Mist had fallen in with the Varia, the miser had been an unaffiliated information broker. Just because any brokering was now done in Varia-approved ways didn't mean Viper wasn't still going to horde any and all information it was possible to gather.

"Yes?" Colonnello asked warily, wondering what was going on.

" _He's impossible_ ," Viper stated, an odd tone to the words. " _Xanxus has already declared for him, and that is... understandable, and under the circumstances, expected. Unfortunately, that means he can requisition my services without having to pay the usual fees._ "

Um. Okay?

"... and?" He was kind of scared to ask, because that was the closest he'd heard to _respect_ from the Mist Arcobaleno, for all that it sounded like complaining as well. He knew Xanxus got away without fees, but Xanxus was not only Viper's Sky, he was a _Wrath._ That made the exception pretty much a given, but the other Varia still had to pay out the nose for anything up to and including passing the salt.

So _why_ exactly was the cute little fluffball (who admittedly ran the training course _really well_ , but, hey, Reborn as a teacher) ranked in alongside Xanxus in the 'no fee' zone?

Viper made an indescribably annoyed sound, " _He's having me go over Korea's funding with Reborn. Decimo's crazy underlings_ conquered and merged _two_ countries _for him, and he's making_ me _run the numbers! He says he can't trust his idiots not to make things worse and he doesn't have time to do it himself, and he needs his Storm brat to keep the Sora on track so they don't do something even_ more _crazy!_ "

Colonnello thought that over from about six different angles and couldn't come up with a better response than "What?"

Viper made an aggrieved sound, " _Why does he have to be_ Xanxus' _Sky? Why couldn't he have picked a_ different _Sky to be Transcendent at? The mythological menagerie is already nuts; I don't need to have Decimo's cultists going out and acquiring_ countries _for him! Unifying Japan's Yakuza and the Triads was bad enough! Now he's a newly unified country's_ monarch! _He's_ fourteen!"

That was... one way to get an explanation. Which. It felt like a 'where's the camera?' moment, but... this was _Viper._ When Viper messed with minds, it was either for a profit or in self-defense. Or on orders, if Xanxus was the one giving them, although Squalo had only been given minimal fees while the Varia Boss had been incapacitated for an extended period.

Which meant this probably wasn't a joke.

Which in turn meant the world had just tilted sideways and done a jig.

"Um..."

" _We barely have the security handled for his instatement as Decimo tomorrow! If something goes wrong, Xanxus is going to break_ everything, _and whatever he misses_ Reborn _will blow up! We don't have_ time _to deal with_ setting up new governments! _How does Decimo_ attract _these things!?_ "

"... Viper?" Colonnello was completely out of his depth. He had never heard that much emotion from the Arcobaleno Mist _ever,_ and there hadn't been a mention of money past the second sentence. A rant _not_ about money was frankly terrifying.

" _You're coming tomorrow_ ," Viper informed, suddenly flat-voiced again. " _I don't care if I have to ask_ Bermuda _to get you. You are_ coming, _and you are acting as additional insurance, and you are going to protect Tsunayoshi, and you're probably going to end up as his third Rain but I don't even_ care. _I will hunt down Verde and drag him myself if I have to. That will be_ all of us _, and someone will have to be either insane or just stupid to try anything._ "

The line clicked before Colonnello could come up with a response, and he was left with a number of answers that led to about three times as many questions.

... So, Reborn's complaint about Tsuna being 'impossible' some months before was starting to make even more sense, and apparently seconded by Viper.

Also, who the hell was 'Bermuda' and why did the miser Mist say the name like he should know the person?

(He refused to even think about the rest of it. His brain was spinning enough just from Viper's tone, he didn't want to try and unravel the content. Besides, he had to make sure none of his current trainees killed themselves or each other.)

 _xxxx_

 _Viper/Mammon is such a pain to write. I'm not ready to try a from-Viper's-POV quite yet, so this is the closest you'll get for a while. Also, I'm fully intending to follow canon's 'Viper's gender is a mystery' thing, since nowhere is it ever said whether the Arcobaleno Mist is a he or a she. However, I also don't want to use 'it' or 'they', which makes writing the Arcobaleno/Varia Mist is kind of complicated. Ah, well. I try._


	12. Iemitsu I

**_xxxx_**

Iemitsu had the better part of a month to reflect on the very cold reception he'd gotten from his son. The son that denied him, called him a lying stranger—and at first he'd been confused, shocked, and more than a little thrown by it...

Surely he'd written? Surely he'd talked to his Tuna-fishie on the phone within at least the last few months? Surely, _surely_ he hadn't abandoned him so completely?

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of a time where he'd actually done so. He'd talked to his wife, surely—and picking through his phone records where his memory failed, he _had_ talked to his wife. The year before, once, and once two more years before that. He couldn't bring himself to look further back, because that— _that_ was a failure. He hadn't been able to bring himself to face her, when she was in Italy (and how had she gotten there? There were no plane tickets, no passports, and no record of her leaving Japan) with children that a glance at security tapes showed clearly were his son's, not his wife's.

(And that son hadn't even batted and eye when one of the guests tried to shoot him, the bullet melting against a pinpoint barrier of Sky that flared into being just as the trigger was pulled. That son—he wasn't a clumsy child anymore. Wasn't the walking disaster school reports and varying spies had claimed.)

Tsuna had asked for a meeting, and Lal had firmly instructed him not to treat her Sky—his _son_ —familiarly, because it wouldn't be appreciated. Tsuna had not denied blood-relation, but _had_ denied kinship, and Lal was probably right.

... the real question, then, was 'why the meeting?' If Tsuna had no need of him—and he didn't, he _didn't_ , Iemitsu could see that even if only on security tapes; Tsuna was the one caring for so many, a father to three children who called him 'brother' and obviously looked to by the others who called him their Sky (and Reborn had been shock enough, but _Xanxus?_ Fon, Skull? Lal returning _days_ after she had gone to meet him, her Pacifier cracked down the middle and a steady blue, her Flames resonating as mostly Rain and so clearly with the calm of one bonded to a Sky?) ... no, Tsuna had no need of a father, and even if he _had_ , Iemitsu wouldn't be the one he looked to. He'd failed too badly for that.

(And how hadn't he even _realized_ he was failing? How had he let _that much_ time pass him by? Eight years without a visit? No letters? Two calls in the last three, and both less than ten minutes and during times Tsuna would have been in school? No wonder his son hadn't known his face or his voice.)

He went to the meeting, heavy-hearted and cautious, and the sheer expansive weight of his son's Flames made him feel small, and his son had his younger Storm at his side.

Iemitsu swallowed back his pride, his nearly overwhelming desire to brush off the missed years as though they hadn't happened—and, to him, it didn't feel as if they _had_ , for all the evidence said otherwise—and treated his son like he would Timoteo in a bad mood; a higher-ranked allied Boss who was not to be trifled with.

(He was all but ordered to talk to his wife, who was back in Japan with those three children bare minutes after the last time they'd been seen in the Vongola mansion, and still Iemitsu had no idea how, and when he didn't protest, didn't try anything—Tsuna's chill towards him warmed, just a little.

Maybe he could still fix this, somehow.)

 _xxxx_

 _Iemitsu is a bad father and a bad husband, and it's canon at least to the anime that Tsuna didn't recognize him the first time he showed up in Japan. There's a little flashback-scene where he'd leaving while Tsuna is not in sight (it's not specifically stated that it's the same visit as the one where Tsuna's Flames are sealed when he's five, but nor are there any scenes of Iemitsu with Tsuna between the ages of five and fourteen) and he tells Nana to tell Tsuna he's gone 'to become a star'. Which. Sounds a lot like a nice way of telling a child that someone's died, really._

 _He's also clearly a ditz about some things, but... he_ does _seem to love his wife. He also ranges between loving and having some kind of weird dominance issues with Tsuna, and he seems to be in overall complete denial over or simply oblivious to what a failure he's been to his family. Nevertheless, I imagine if someone smacked him hard enough with reality, and Tsuna's Flames weren't sealed enough to have him on par, power-wise, with Iemitsu instead of as much stronger as he is portrayed as being in the end (thus killing whatever instinct issues might be involved around the dominance displays), he_ might _actually think about what he's done._

 _And if he loves his family as much as his ditz-moments imply, he'd want to make it better. Whether or not he succeeded or fell straight back into old habits is a different question entirely._

 _Also, I have a friend with literally no sense of relative time. Things marked out on a schedule aren't too hard for her to keep track of in a future-sense, often without even being written, but she's mildly autistic and with an eidetic memory, which adds up to her not being able to tell whether something happened two days or two years ago without actively counting back calendar-style. Since there are apparently few situations that call to mind a need to know_ when _something happened instead of_ that _it happened, she tends to drop out of contact indefinitely unless one sets up an actual contact-schedule or is the one to do the calling. I'm using that as a reason to give Iemitsu something akin to the benefit of the doubt._

 _xxxx_


	13. Bermuda I

_The Vindice are a terrifying emotionless collective. Except that they're also not, apparently, because Bermuda can't quite help but want to protect the brightest Sky any of them have ever seen.  
_

 _xxxx_

Bermuda perched himself on Jager's shoulder, having delegated literally any possible happening up to and including the Man in the Iron Hat choosing to show his face so that he would have the entire day to supervise Vongola and their many guests for the Decimo's official introduction—without interruption.

They had one stop to make before then, though, as a favor to the current Mist Arcobaleno. Because that favor was for Tsunayoshi's sake, Bermuda felt quite accommodating.

Jager made the portal and stepped through, and the greeting of, "Holy shit, kora!" quickly cut off into wide-eyed silence.

Bermuda let Jager be the one to speak, as he usually did in situations he chose to personally oversee—frankly, the man's voice was more intimidating than his own, and Bermuda would admit to taking pleasure in the fear of others.

 **"Rain Arcobaleno Colonnello,"** Jager greeted, flat and uncompromising. **"You are to accompany us."**

Colonnello swallowed, but straightened his shoulders all the same, "What are the charges?"

Willing to question. Bermuda had judged him correctly.

 **"There are none,"** Jager replied, **"Dismiss your students. You will not be returning today; your assistance is required in Sicily."**

Colonnello paused, clearly taken aback. "Um. Are you Bermuda?"

 **"No,"** Jager stated, still flat.

Bermuda answered the question himself, **"I am Bermuda. The current Mist Arcobaleno has requested that I ensure your presence. As this is for the Decimo's sake, I was willing to agree."**

The Rain swallowed and nodded, "Right. Okay. That kid's terrifying. Sure," he turned his attention to his 'students' who were apparently frozen in fear. "Kora! You maggots clear out for the day, and make sure you're on time tomorrow! Any slackers get extra training!"

Satisfied that the Rain's duties were suitably dismissed for the moment, Bermuda nodded to his Right Hand, who snapped out a chain to snatch up both the Rain and his weapon as Bermuda opened a portal, and they stepped through to the Vongola Mansion and the quietly contained chaos therein.

The Decimo's youngest Storm spotted them first and let out a breath, visibly relieved. "Bermuda, Jager, good. Mamma and the kids are here and Mammon is trying a last-minute workaround for the CEDEF's last-minute changes. If you can get Colonnello to Lal Mirch, she can get him sorted out, but right now the Varia need some extra eyes."

Ah. A possible danger. Bermuda caught Jager's quick glance and smiled behind his bandages—of course they would help to protect the Sky.

 _xxxx_


End file.
